I have had the opportunity to be on the sidelines watching many football games. Football is a game of constant momentum shifts, planning, and strategic adjustments. This past weekend I did something I rarely do . . . watched an entire college football game, but unfortunately not on a sideline or even in the stadium.
Some of you may know I am an Ohio State fan. Now I either gained or lost respect from you, but after this weekend if you aren’t a fan, you get to gloat. After watching the game, I thought I’d pause to consider possible leadership lessons that enabled Michigan to finally break their eight year losing streak.
Mental Errors
If you aren’t familiar with the OSU vs. Michigan rivalry, this is one of the most intense rivalries in college football. Both teams came into this game with a 10 – 1 record and a lot to either gain or lose. In a game with so much at stake mental errors can make a huge difference. Michigan committed one turnover from an interception, but OSU had 66 yards in penalties (two-thirds of a football field) with most of them happening before the ball was snapped.
Similar to a football game, for leaders small mental mistakes can make a critical difference when the stakes are high. The more intense the pressure, the more critical to manage our mindset. Through preparation and an appropriately engaged mindset, not overly excited and too anxious nor under excited and apathetic, we can lead more effectively and prevent minor mistakes that compound into major problems.
Execution
Every game will have errors, but as I watched the Buckeyes bobble kickoff returns twice and struggle with what appeared to be an overpowering Michigan front line the principle of execution came to mind. At no point did the Buckeyes quit or let up, but Michigan seemed to be executing more effectively in every way. From a fan’s perspective it seemed Michigan had an effective offensive plan to dominate the OSU defense and defensive strategy to make the Buckeyes earn every yard.
One of a leader’s first responsibilities is to have a plan. The more challenging part can be executing that plan. Football coaches create effective plans through hours of studying the opponent, strategizing with the staff, and practicing the plan. Effective leaders do the same. They prepare for hours, study and understand the needs of their key people, and train their team. All this enables effective execution when the meeting comes.
Taking Advantage of Momentum
At halftime the game was close and could have swung either direction, but Michigan stopped OSU on the first offensive drive of the second half therefore shifting momentum their direction. They leveraged that momentum to increase the pressure on OSU by continuing to score.
Leadership expert John Maxwell highlights momentum as one of the key laws of leadership. In his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, which I take groups of leaders through to help them grow their leadership, he states:
“Even average people can perform far above average in an organization with great momentum.”
When a salesperson gets a sale he or she has momentum and is inspired to get more sales. When a leader has had a success in moving the vision forward it energizes the leader to try something else and continue championing the vision. Momentum is a leader’s friend. . . use it.
Now that I have humbly admitted Michigan on this day was the better team take a minute to think about your leadership. How are mental errors impacting your team? Where do you need to execute more effectively? Where do you have momentum you can leverage to accelerate your success or that of your team? Want to create an environment to help you think strategically into your leadership? Contact me and let’s discover any way I can serve you or your team. Lead Well.
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